336 REV. GEORGE A. SHAW, F.Z.S., ON 
flourishing by his superior knowledge and acuteness, not to 
mention his superabundant eupidity. And in the district 
watered by the River Matitanana, in the south-east, he has 
maintained an independence of, and isolation from, other 
tribes, while he has developed into a large and powerful 
community, with traditions, laws, and sympathies distinctly 
Arabic. 
This tribe, called the Taimoro,* from their first settlement 
amorona (‘on the banks of”) the Matitanana, has a history, 
with customs and traditions that make them peculiarly 
interesting to the foreigner; and their influence, from causes 
that will be explained later on, is widespread and powerful 
among the neighbouring tribes. 
The Taimoro at the present day occupy that political 
division of the country which is under the Governor of 
Vohipéno, extending from Andakana in the south to Tapolo 
in the north. It is bounded on the west by the River 
Riananana (a tributary of the Matitanana), and stretches as 
far as Békatra on the north-west, beyond which is the 
country of the Tanala and Tambédiharana, as the various 
sub-tribes occupying the mountainous slopes of the table- 
land are called by the coast people. Portions of other tribes 
are to be found within this boundary, but they are the 
descendants of those who have come as visitors, in the first 
instance, or of families that have been driven into this country, 
as a refuge from enemies, in some of the intertribal wars. In 
this way the small communities of Taifasy, Zafisoro. and 
Bétsimishraka within the province of the Taimoro are to be 
accounted for. These have in the course of years or genera- 
tions acquired ricefields and plantations, grazing lands and 
villages, entirely. distinct and independent of the Taimoro, 
and acknowledging no fealty to the Taimoro chiefs. 
The Taimoro proper are divided into several sub-tribes 
or sections, each being apparently the descendants of the 
individual leaders of the original immigration, and of their 
slaves or dependents ; ; the former section being called the 
Mpanombily or T'ompomeénakely, and the latter the Ménakely 
or common people. 
* Variously spelt Taimora, Teimoro, Ntemoro, Antemoro, Antaimoro, 
and Taimorona, the most common pr onunciation being as in ‘the first and 
the last forms. Literally, the words mean, ‘“‘ There by the side,” or “On 
the banks.” 
